Hurricane Michael just made landfall in the Florida Panhandle, and residents of coastal communities are bracing for one of the worst storms in recent memory.

The Category 4 storm grew out of a weekend tropical depression, rising in days to a catastrophic storm before making landfall Wednesday afternoon, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Michael is expected to bring heavy rainfall along the northeastern Gulf Coast, a life-threatening storm surge of up to 13 feet, and could also bring some heavy rain to New Jersey.

Twenty-two counties along the Panhandle and north central Florida have already been ordered to evacuate.

Even before its landfall, the flooding and hazardous conditions had already begun, and Michael is now starting to leave destruction in its path as it tears through the South. Here are some of the most frightening scenes of the hurricane from social media.